Far-right European groups challenging EU court over frozen finances
The Patriots, a political group including Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán, have initiated legal steps against the European Parliament and the party supervisory authority between 2024 and 2025, aiming to prevent the refusal of millions of euros in public funds linked to allegations of irregular use of EU funds.
The dispute began when the Parliament's Bureau decided that the Patriots should fund a campaign with their own money and repay €228,000 in European funds spent for this purpose. The APPF's decision, which allowed the European Parliament to block the Patriots from accessing €4 million in European funds in 2023, was based on the party's alleged misrepresentation of one of its MEPs in a social media post.
The Patriots argue that the denial of funds was illegitimate and resulted from bias and lack of impartiality. They claim that the Parliament violated their right to defense by censoring large portions of their letter contesting the decision. In the initial version of their letter, the Patriots compared their campaign to that of another EU party, but the justification was expunged in the version circulated within the office.
The Budgetary Control Committee of Parliament recommended the repayment of 4.3 million euros from the Patriots for Europe group as compensation for presumed erroneous expenses by the Identity and Democracy group, which dissolved in the summer of 2024, with many of its members and staff joining the newly created Patriots.
The Patriots have threatened separate legal actions against the Parliament and have 'very good lawyers' who are confident they are right. In another complaint, the Patriots accuse the European Parliament of partiality and lack of impartiality for ruling that the party misused funds during a campaign in the Czech Republic.
Politicians from traditional parties have kept the Patriots at arm's length under an informal pact aimed at avoiding cooperation with far-right and far-left formations. However, the Patriots are undeterred and have launched a legal action against the European Parliament and the Union's party watchdog for denying them access to over €4 million in public funds.
Wednesday's judicial decision will allow the Patriots to try to reclaim some of these funds, potentially fueling their narrative of administrative bias. The European Court of Justice previously ruled that the Party Funding Authority wrongly fined the Patriots €47,000 in a previous case. A group official stated, 'We will fight in court if necessary.'
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